


Taking You Out

by asododsteel



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-18 18:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4716326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asododsteel/pseuds/asododsteel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxy Lalonde is the toughest kid in school, and she just picked a fight with band geek John Egbert. The thing is, only one of them knows it’s a fight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Roxy Lalonde strutted confidently through the halls, her pink Doc Martens clacking audaciously against the floor tiles. She sneered at people challengingly as they passed, regardless of whether or not they were paying any attention to her. 

“What are you doing?” asked her sister Rose, walking a safe distance behind her.

“Just showing off my swank. Letting these other dweebs know who’s in charge.”

“If that involves making a spectacle of yourself, you are certainly achieving your goal.”

“You can hate all you want.” said Roxy defiantly, “It doesn’t stop me from being the best.”

“The best at?” inquired Rose.

“You name it! Hacking, smashing, gaming, or sciencing; I got the skillz.”

“Once again, I am astounded not only by your willingness to deliberately misspell the most pedestrian of words, but also by your ability to somehow incorporate that cacography into your very speech.”

“You know, if it wasn’t for the fact that we share a mom, I wouldn’t let you get away with that kind of shit.”

“It is good to know my years of constant emotional support count for so little.” 

“What can I say,” said Roxy, stopping in front of her locker, “I gotta keep up appearances.”

As she opened her locker, she heard an unfamiliar clank. The next thing she knew, she was sitting stunned on the floor, her clothing soaked and a plastic bucket on her head. She heard laughter. Lifting the bucket off her head, she caught sight of a gleeful boy in a band uniform running towards her.

“Haha, got you Kar-” he began, only to stop short when he caught sight of Roxy’s face.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” he cried as she got up and wiped the water out of her eyes.

“I didn’t-”

“What the fuck!” she cut him off. “You think this is funny, punk?”

“I’m sorry.” he said, “It was an accident.”

“You accidentally broke into her locker and set up a bucket of water?” questioned Rose.

“I thought that-”

“I don’t care what you thought,” Roxy yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “I’m gonna-” she stopped, her rage swiftly being replaced by horror.

“Oh shit, noooo!” she moaned. “This is my favorite jacket.” She examined her black leather jacket in dismay. “This is real leather, you’re not supposed to get it wet! Now it’s ruined!” She glared back at the boy, pure rancorous hatred in her eyes.

“You’re going to pay for this!”  

John Egbert didn’t know what to do. This was supposed to be a harmless prank between friends, but now there was a very wet, very angry girl yelling at him. 

“ _And now she wants me to pay her back_.” though John. “ _Does she mean like with money? I already spent my allowance on that new Ghostbusters II game, I don’t think I can afford a jacket. Maybe she means like a favor, like she wants me to make it up to her or something. Wait, is she still talking? Oh shoot!_ ” 

“What, you think you can just ignore me?” she yelled, “You wanna go, punk? You wanna take this outside?”

“Huh?” replied John, having only been half-listening. 

“ _What did she say_? _Something about if I wanted to go out_? _Wait. Is she asking me out on a date_?”

“You heard me. I’m taking you out!”

“ _Holy crap_!” thought John, “ _She is asking me out on a date_.”

“U-um, okay.” the boy stammered, intimidated but for the entirely wrong reason. “Whatever you say.”

“I say you and me, after school Friday, underneath the flagpole.”

“Okay, great!” said John. “No wait, I have band practice. Does later work? Maybe sometime around 7?”

“Fine by me.” said the girl. “I’m ready to mix it up any time, any place.”

“Good. Great!” said John, nervously scribbling his name and phone number on a sticky note. “Text me your address and we can-”

His words were drowned out by the sound of the late bell.

“Gotta run!” he said, handing her the note and zooming off. “I’m looking forward to tonight!” he called as he rushed up the stairs to third period.

“Oh trust me, the feeling is mutual.” said Roxy, cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

“You do realized what just happened?” asked Rose, giving her sister a critical look.

“Of course, I just got the chance to smash some dork’s face into the dirt.”


	2. Chapter 2

Roxy stood outside her house, waiting. She had texted the boy; the note said his name was John, but she saw no point in remembering the names of the soon-to-be-dead; and arranged for him to meet her there, on her own turf. She had thought it strange how eager he seemed to get his ass handed to him, but he wasn’t the first boy to underestimate her. He was only the latest in a long line of jerks who thought they could get the best of Roxy Lalonde. She shivered. Her leather jacket was out of commission, so her sister insisted she wear one of her garments, a light lavender wrap that did nothing to keep out the cold. 

“ _Not exactly fighting clothes_.” she though, “ _but then again, it’s not mine, so what do I care if it gets wrecked. And speaking of wrecked..._ ” She observed a white sedan pull up, a familiar derpy face in the passenger’s seat. 

“You look nice.” said the boy, stepping out of the car.

“You brought your dad with you?” asked Roxy, gesturing towards the stern fatherly figure behind the driver’s seat. The girl had never fought against an adult before, but she supposed there was a first time for everything.

“Oh, he’s not coming. He’s just here to drive us to the restaurant.”

“Restaurant?”

“Yeah, I thought it would be best to get something to eat first.”

Roxy was about to object, when the empty feeling in her stomach reminded her of how she skipped dinner in anticipation of fight.

“Whatever.” she said, allowing the boy to hold the door for her. It occurred to her that stepping into the car of a complete stranger, especially one whose life she threatened, was probably not the best idea. She shrugged. “So where are we going?”

Their destination turned out to be a 50’s themed dinner connected to a shopping mall. The duo ordered their food and ate in silence. John ventured the occasional glance up as Roxy, but the girl’s gaze seemed transfixed on the empty space in front of her. “ _What’s his end game_?” she wondered, “ _Is he hoping that I’ll let my guard down_? 

Finally, John spoke up.

“Um, I just wanted to say sorry about your jacket.”

Roxy sighed. “It’s fine. It was getting too small for me anyway. I was hoping it would last another year or two but...”

“Was it... Was it special to you?”

“Kind of. It’s a long story.”

John looked at her expectantly.

“Eh, I got better things to do than bore you with my stupid childhood drama.”

“I won’t be bored, I promise.” said John, gazing at her in earnest.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. It all started a fews years ago in elementary school. My friend Jane was being picked on by some kids. They were all just ganging up on her, so I stepped in to help. Of course, they wouldn’t listen to me, so I did the one thing I could do.”

“You got an adult?”

“I beat the shit out of them.”

“Oh. Did you get in trouble?”

“I got a week’s suspension, but those jerks stopped giving Jane a hard time so it was worth it.”

“Uh-huh.” said John, piecing together the scenario. “And what about the jacket?”

“It was a gift from Jane. She said I reminded her of some TV tough guy she was fond of, so she got it for me as a way of saying thanks.”

“She sounds like a really good friend.” said John.

“She was...” muttered Roxy. Furrowing her brow, she looked back up at the boy. “What’s it to you anyway? I thought you said you wanted to brawl?”

“Brawl?” said John in surprise. I’m sorry but I don’t own a Wii. I’m always up for Melee if that’s more your-”

He was stopped by the sound of beeping. He down looked at his watch.

“Oh man, I almost forgot! The movie’s starting soon.”

“Movie?” 

“Yeah, they’re rereleasing this old Nic Cage film, and I figured it’d be something you might like.”

Before Roxy could respond, he was paying the check and dragging her to the movie theatre inside the mall.


	3. Chapter 3

Roxy watched as Nicolas Cage carried Cher to the bedroom. Though she was never a huge fan of romantic comedies, she had to admit: this was pretty entertaining. She found herself laughing out loud anytime the two main leads went from yelling at each other to passionately embracing. Roxy had forgotten the name of the film, something stupid and nonsensical no doubt, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying it. She reached over to grab a handful of popcorn from the comically large bucket that John had insisted on paying for himself. She would have politely informed him that chivalry was dead, but her mouth was too full of popcorn. She snuck a glance in his direction. He was engrossed in the film, a goofy smile on his face as Nic Cage and Cher delivered iconic line after iconic line. 

“ _He’s not half bad_.” she thought. “ _A lot more fun to be around than most guys I know._ ”

She saw his eyes light up at the characters on the screen and she couldn’t help but smirk.

 

Roxy exited the theater, John in tow. He had insisted that they stay to watch the credits and she agreed, reasoning that leaving would be less of a hassle once the place emptied out.

“So, did you like it?” asked John, brimming with confidence in his choice of movies.

“Surprisingly, yes. It was actually really good.” replied Roxy “And that’s something I never expected to say about a romcom.”

“That’s the magic of Nic Cage!” John declared, grinning from ear to ear.

“Well if there’s more where that came from, sign me the fuck up. I’m all about the magyyks!”

Exiting to the lobby, they caught sight of the arcade area.

“Say, I’ve still got a few dollars left.” said John, “Want to play a few rounds?” 

“You’re on!”

 

“Left. Go left!” said Roxy. “Okay, and a little bit to the back. Stop! Right there.”

“Are you sure?” said John, fiddling with the joystick “It looks a little uneven.”

“It’s fine, it’ll rotate when it goes down.”

They were down to their last 50 cents. Roxy had suggested they try their luck at the prize grab machine. John was somewhat hesitant, until he saw a stuffed bunny nearly identical to the one used in Con Air. 

“Are you sure it’ll get a good grip?”

The claw hung precariously over the pink rabbit, ready to sink it’s steely grip into the soft velvety flesh.

“Trust me,” said Roxy “it’s good.”

“Okay!” 

John pushed the button. The claw dropped down on the bunny like a hawk going in for the kill. It gripped the rabbit lightly and began its ascent. They held their breaths as the claw slowly made its way towards the drop zone, knowing that any second gravity could rip their prize from its confinement and sending it tumbling down to the fluffy abyss from whence it came. The claw stopped. It dropped the bunny. The two of them let out a sign of relief as it fell safely down the glass chute into prize dispenser.

“Yeah!” shouted Roxy “Roxy and John - 1, Prize Claw game - 0”

John picked up the bunny and looked it over, examining the soft plush features. The resemblance was uncanny.

“Pretty nice.” said Roxy “I’m jealous.”

John looked at her. “Do you want to hold on to it?”

“What? No, it’s yours”

He held it out to her. “Take it. As a way of making up for your jacket.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sure I’m sure. Besides, I’d say pink is more your color than mine.

“Alright.” she said, taking the bunny. “Thank you.” She smiled at him.

“Um, you’re welcome.” he replied, suddenly self-conscious.

They stood there for a few seconds, saying nothing, letting the background noise of the lobby fill the awkward silence.

“I-I should call my dad.” said John finally, “Let him know to pick us up.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” agreed Roxy.

 

The two of them stood on curb outside Roxy’s house.

“I um, I hope you had a good time.” John said nervously.

“I did. It was fun.” Roxy replied. “We should do this again sometime.”

“Yeah? Yeah, we should.” There was another brief silence.

“Well, see you around I guess.” said Roxy.

“Right. See you around.” said John, making his way back to the car as casually as he could. He turned and waved. “Bye!”

“Bye.” said Roxy, waving back.

She watched him drive off, not even attempting to hide the smirk on her face. She walked back to the house and stepped inside, only to find her sister Rose waiting in the foyer. 

“Oh you’re back.” she said, lifting her eyes from the book. “How was the fight?”

“Fight?” said Roxy. She looked at her sister, then down to the bunny, then back up to her sister; the realization slowly creeping on to her face.

“Son of a-”


	4. Epilogue

Roxy paced outside the entrance to the school, contemplating how she was to go about this.

“ _It’s real simple_.” she thought. “ _All I have to do is tell him that the other night was a mistake. A fluke. I had come for righteous vengeance, not... whatever it was that actually happened!_ ” She hesitated. If she stepped through that door, he was bound to see her. She would have to confront him. She couldn’t keep avoiding him, could she? “ _No!_ ” 

She shook her head. Dorks like him avoided her, not the other war around. She would do this and she would do it now. Taking a deep breath, she kicked the doors open and strode down the hallway like she owned the place. She quickly spotted him standing by the locker next to hers, talking to one of his friends. He was laughing.

“ _Look at him over there. He’s probably telling ‘em all about how he got one over on me. Well I’m not going to take that lying down!_ ” 

“Hey you!” she called, storming over to him.

“Oh, hi Roxy!” he said cheerfully, “This is Karkat. I was just telling him about last Friday.”

“Oh, really?” she said, hands on her hips, “And what exactly were you telling him?”

“Mostly about how you helped me beat that prize grabbing game. I’ve never been able to win at those things before, and I was really impressed at how good you were.”

“Oh yeah? Well... Thank you.” she said, trying her hardest to stay angry.

"Anyway, I was thinking that if you’re free next weekend, we could get together at my place? I have this great Nic Cage film that I know you’ll love. Does that sound good?”

“No, it does not!” she said defiantly, “I’m not interested in you or your dumb movies!”

“Really? You sounded really excited about it before. You said to sign you up for the magics or something?”

Roxy felt her face flushing in embarrassment. “Will you stop being so...” she couldn’t even find the words for it. “Just! Shut up and give me your lunch money!”

John looked at her quizzically “Sorry, I brought my lunch today. I can share it with you if you want?”

“Yes. I mean, no! I mean...” She sighed.

“Sure.”


End file.
